FAIR ROD AND LINE BATTLE WITH PIKE. 157 



Coming along the side of the hoat, she ''grinned a 

 ghastly grin," and two pairs of eyes met — the man's 

 and the fish's — with dire defiance of each other. The 

 pike then shook her head severely, after the manner of 

 a dog worrying a rat ; all in vain, the hooks were too 

 firmly fastened into her tongue, and they could not he 

 shaken out. Off went the pike again for another waltz 

 round the pool, and then came a deal of manoeuvring 

 on the part of the fisherman. The skiff — not a flat- 

 bottomed boat — was anchored in deej) water by a rope 

 and chain, and Jardine's fear was that the fish would 

 manage to twist the line round the rope, in which case 

 the line would, in all probability, give way. He there- 

 fore tried all he could to get up the anchor. Kneeling 

 on one knee, he pulled hard at the anchor-rope, while 

 he played the pike with the other hand ;■ but no, the 

 anchor would not come up, so he devoted his entire 

 attention to the fish. After dancing a 2)as de deux with 

 his partner for a long time, the fish began to give way, 

 and to roll herself languidly about several times. Jardine 

 brought her near the side of the boat, and several times 

 did she again plunge into the depths below, making 

 great swirls with her tail. 



' ' Illam ter fluctus ibidem 

 Torquet agens circum, et rapido vorat cequore vortex." 



Still, the difficulty remained how to get the fish into 

 the boat. Piscator, however, was ready for any emer- 

 gency — when is he not ? Slipping the gaff, without 

 the fish seeing it, gently into the water, with a swift 

 jerk he chucked her under the chin. Having felt the 

 hold was firm, he dropped his rod, and put the finger 

 of his other hand into the pike's eyes. Another moment, 

 and the pike was in the skiff. Then came the tug of 



